The water was so high that nothing less than
thigh-high boots afforded protection. One man
was even filmed swimming bare-chested in the
city’s iconic St. Mark’s Square.
“I have often seen St. Mark’s Square covered with
water,’’ Venice’s patriarch, Monsignor Francesco
Moraglia, told reporters. “Yesterday there were
waves that seemed to be the seashore.”
Brugnaro called the fallout catastrophic.
“We are not just talking about calculating the
damages, but of the very future of the city,’’
Brugnaro told reporters, speaking of “untold
damages to houses, shops, activities, not to
mention monuments and works of art. We risked
our lives as well.”
The damages included five ferries that serve as
water buses, a critical means of transportation.
Photos on social media showed taxi boats and
gondolas grounded on walkways that flank
the canals.
Brugnaro blamed climate change for the
“dramatic situation” and called for a speedy
completion of a long-delayed project to
construct offshore barriers.
Called “Moses,” the moveable undersea barriers
are meant to limit flooding. But the project,
which has been opposed by environmentalists
concerned about damaging the delicate lagoon
ecosystem, has been delayed by cost overruns
and corruption scandals. No launch date for it
has yet been set.
Luca Zaia, governor of the Veneto region, told
SkyTG24 that the barriers were almost complete
but it wasn’t clear if they would work against
such flooding.